1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication subscriber apparatus such as a portable phone which has a function of position registration to a base station, and more particularly to a method for setting a function of an answering machine for use with such a mobile communication subscriber apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mobile communication subscriber apparatus is a portable terminal device for information communication. Examples of such apparatus include a portable phone such as digital cordless phone and cellular phone or a small-sized portable personal computer (PDA: Personal Digital Assistants). The portable phone contains a digital cordless phone and a cellular phone. The small-sized portable personal computer contains a personal handyphone system (PHS) used in Japan and a CT-2 used in Europe.
Of such mobile communication subscriber apparatuses, some apparatuses may share an external mode and an internal mode and utilize either one properly. Herein, the external mode indicates a mode at which information is communicated through a base station that is a terminal for sending and receiving information is installed for public use. This mode is normally used outdoors when the mobile communication subscriber apparatus is operated independently. When the mobile communication subscriber apparatus is used at the external mode, normally, it is necessary to do a registration, in advance of a position of the apparatus itself to the base station. In general, this registration is called position registration.
On the other hand, the internal mode indicates a mode at which information is communicated through a specific phone installed at home. This mode is normally used when the mobile communication subscriber apparatus is served as a local subscriber to the local base station of the specific phone installed at home or the like.
Additionally, with the internal mode, normally, a phone number of the phone acting as a local base station (called a station phone number) is different from a phone number set to the mobile communication subscriber apparatus served at the external mode (called a subscriber phone number).
Hence, when the mobile communication subscriber apparatus is used at the external mode, someone who does not know the subscriber phone number cannot make contact with a user of the mobile communication station apparatus if he or she knows the subscriber phone number. That is, since the station phone number is different from the subscriber phone number, the user of the subscriber apparatus cannot often receive a contact from another if he or she carries the subscriber apparatus.
Further, if the phone machine acting as a local base station provides an answering function of recording a message from another person, that is, of automatically responding to a received signal, the user of the subscriber apparatus may receive a contact from another person as a recorded message. However, this kind of answering function has a shortcoming in that a message from another person is allowed to move to the user of the subscriber apparatus until he or she reproduces the message recorded in the local base station.
Moreover, if the phone machine acting as a local base station provides the answering function, a message indicating a subscriber phone number be contained in the message of the local base station and may automatically answer a received signal from another person. However, if the local base station is set to have the answering function, the mobile communication subscriber apparatus is not always usable. Hence, if the message indicating the subscriber phone number is contained in the message of the local base station automatically answers any received signal, this message may be improper if the subscriber apparatus is not in use.